Apple Inc. $AAPL is Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.4%, owning 1,430,244 shares, which is valued at approximately $317.7 million and makes Apple the largest position in its portfolio.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and generated a revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% from the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equating to an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,430,244 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 20,275 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 7.6% of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $317,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $4.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $234.07. 55,768,555 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.50 and a 200-day moving average of $212.39. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.80.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.